Skill is dynamic, which is why it is more valuable than technique. When you have skill, you also have technique, but if you have technique, you don’t necessarily have skill. Technique is related to explicit information while skill is related to perception, decision making and implicit understanding.
Skill is adaptable, creative and flexible. It is imaginative and a result of figuring things out for yourself, working to overcome challenges in understanding. Skill is individual to you. You can’t learn it by copying. Skill has to be earned; it can’t be given.
At Zenyo, we focus our energy on creating an environment where you train in the most direct route to skill. Read more about the Zenyo approach to direct skill.
“If you fight, you might not always win. But if you don’t fight, you will always lose.”
Our approach to training at Zenyo can be summed up in one sentence: “You don’t learn to surf in a pool.” In In Jiu Jitsu, you will never fight against someone who will just let you do whatever you want. If you practice in a way devoid of reality, you miss the most important elements of building skill. You may learn a technique in isolation, but science shows this way does not transfer against pressure and competition.
Modern sports science has taken a radical break from traditional training methods. Examined under the lens of research, much sports and martial arts training fails to measure up. Mindless repetition, static drilling, compliant partners: all these things are not supported by research.
Muscle memory isn’t a thing. Your brain being able to make good decisions in all circumstances is.
That’s why at Zenyo we’ve moved away from traditional approaches. Our training is now based around live interaction with a partner in an unscripted way. The science of training shows this is the best way to develop functional, adaptable, creative skill.
Jiu Jitsu means the gentle art. Zenyo means best use. Our training could be described as the gentle art of best use.